At any given time in history the literary scene will seem confused to those who are living through it, and it is the selectivity of posterity that makes the pattern and orders of eminence appear clearly defined to the retrospective view. It is fairly safe to say that, at the present time, there is an especially bewildering complexity of poetic tendencies, of kinds of poetry being written, of warring factions, of ways of presenting, criticising and teaching poetry, and of conflicting beliefs about the role of the poet in society. Very broadly speaking, the present debate in contemporary poetry concepts the reciprocal mistrust and disapproval shown by the seriously committed 'literary' writers. Whose poems are intended to be printed and read on the page, and the popular, performing poets who, while they will probably publish their verses in magazines and collections, are happier declaiming them to an audience. Of course, this division is far from absolute.

The practice of promoting public poetry readings has been steadily increasing over the past twenty years or so, in many different forms. Small literary societies in provincial towns conduct them in village halls or the sitting rooms of their members; schools and colleges invite poets to read and talk to audiences of students; arts festivals often advertise poetry readings by well-known authors on their programmes. The consequences of all these events, and of poets being more or less obliged to become public performers, are manifold and of uncertain benefit to them as artists. For the 'pop' poets, whose work has been composed expressly for the purpose of recital to live audiences, the issue is plain. They can only profit from public performance.